No need to duck out of work early, now you can watch March Madness games live over your iPhone, and for the first time—anywhere over AT&T’s 3G network.
The application, which is expected to be available Monday on iTunes, will cost $9.99—twice as much as last year’s version that was limited WiFi networks. Rob Gelick, the SVP and GM of CBS (NYSE: CBS) Mobile, expects the demand to be there for live streaming video: “Last year, we were the first to do a live sporting event with the March Madness app, and since then the appetite for video and live video has grown massively for us…We one-upped ourselves. Now people can stay connected regardless of where they are.” [Note: The NBA streamed the All-Star Game live just prior to March Madness in February 2009.]
A free ‘lite’ version, which is sponsored by Microsoft (NSDQ: MSFT), provides on-demand video highlights from every game, live scores, and news coverage. CBS will also launch a free version for BlackBerry, which will be sponsored by Mercedes Benz—but it won’t have live video, or on-demand clips. The only other live video will be available on AT&T’s FLO TV service, which will get all 63 games. AT&T (NYSE: T) is the Exclusive Wireless Partner of the NCAA , so Verizon Wireless’ FLO TV service will be limited to general coverage that’s available on CBS. The opening round game is March 16.
The paid CBS iPhone app will also provide live radio broadcasts from Westwood One throughout the entire tournament, and push alerts to the phone to let you know if a particular game has gone into over time, or there’s a potential upset on the way. Gelick: “Part of the challenges we had last year, was that there’s all of these great games going on at the same time, which one should you watch?” Both the free and paid apps will have an interactive tournament bracket that updates with real-time scores, plus news and the ability to send comments to both Facebook and Twitter.
Interestingly, both apps were developed in partnership with MLB Advanced Media, which has built an extensive streaming video platform in-house.
When asked why CBS didn’t produce an Android or Palm (NSDQ: PALM) app, Gelick responded: “Not this year. I think that you try to make sure what you are delivering is world class, and we’ve expanded from last year’s base by almost 2x in terms of the number of touch points. It becomes a scale issue….This is the nicest product we’ve delivered to date.”
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